The green heart of Heerlen

A photo report by Celestin Albers

The Aambos

The Aambos is an old slope forest in the centre of Heerlen above the Caumerbeek.
You can go to the park for a walk and visit the (fenced) animals.
The park counts 111 acres, a few deer and a whole lot of trees.

Renovation

At the end of the 80's the Aambos was occupied by a lot of drug users, which scared away the typical hiker.
Later on, in the early 2000's, the park was finally renovated.
As part of the renovation they placed a bridge connecting the two highest parts of the forest.

Accessibility

Part of the renovation was dedicated to making the woods more accessible for the elderly and disabled people of Heerlen.
As such, hardened pavements and entrances from living areas where made.
Even though these efforts, there are still a lot of wooden stairs and gravel paths as seen in the picture.

It's not a park.

The first plans for the renovation would have made the Aambos look a lot more like a park.
After these plans were made public there was some protest, the people of Heerlen wanted to keep it a forest.
An ecologist was assigned to guide the renovations and only some trees were cut.
There are some small metal constructions and a few fences, other than that it looks a lot like a wild-forest.